August 15th Celebration - Δεκαπενταύγουστο

Recipes for August 15th Celebration (Summer Lent) - Συνταγές Νηστείας Δεκαπενταύγουστου

What is the big celebration on August 15th in Greece? -

Ποια είναι η μεγάλη γιορτή του Δεκαπενταύγουστου στην Ελλάδα;

Each year on August 15 or "Dekapentavgoustos" on the Greek Orthodox Christian calendar, the Feast of the Dormition of the Theotokos is celebrated 🙏. It is a national and religious holiday also called Summer "Easter" that marks the “falling asleep" of Virgin Mary, mother of the Lord Jesus Christ. The Feast also commemorates the Assumption of the body of the Theotokos into heaven.

Commemorating and preparing for this big celebration begins on August 1 with a period of strict fasting that dictates no meat, dairy, oil or wine, except for fish on the Feast of the Transfiguration on August 6, and the day of the Dormition on August 15. Oil and wine are allowed on Saturdays and Sundays.

A Great Vespers is held the evening before the Feast, and the Feast itself is celebrated with the Divine Liturgy. There are many festivals all around Greece to celebrate the event with food and dance. Everyone with a derivative of the names: Maria, Despina and Panagiotis should be wished Chronia Polla-Many Years or many happy returns for their Nameday (almost half of Greece)! With excerpts from Livingingreece.gr

"Panagia" (Greek: Παναγία, meaning the All-Holy) is one of the titles of Mary, mother of Jesus, used especially in Eastern Catholicism and Orthodox Christianity.

Greek churches dedicated to Virgin Mary are called Panagia; however, specific icons & churches of Panagia are often given particular or special names, which reflect certain theological or depictions in hagiography, or peculiarities of the particular church or monastery. These Panagia's special names are counted to more than 500 to date 😮!

These photos show the main church of today's celebrations-Our Lady of Tinos (Greek: Παναγία Ευαγγελίστρια της Τήνου). It is located on the island of Tinos.

The complex is built around a miraculous icon which according to tradition was found after the Virgin appeared to the nun Pelagia and revealed to her the place where the icon was buried. The icon is widely believed to be the source of numerous miracles . It is by now almost completely encased in silver, gold, and jewels, and is commonly referred to as the "Megalócharē" ("Her Grace"). By extension, the church is often called the same, and is considered a protectress of seafarers and healer of the infirm.

The icon was found on the very first days after the creation of the modern Greek State, henceforth Our Lady of Tinos was declared the patron saint of the Greek nation. With Excerpts from Wikipedia

PHOTOS: Panagia Megalohari Church @Tinos Island

Another Church with a huge celebration on August 15 is: Soumela Monastery and Icon of Panagia Soumela. This is a Greek Orthodox monastery dedicated to the Virgin Mary at Melá Mountain within the Pontic Mountains range, in the Maçka district of Trabzon, Province in modern Turkey. The Monastery is one of the most important historic and touristic venues in Trabzon especially for Greeks and Pontian Greeks. Due to an increase in rock falls, the monastery was closed to the public for safety reasons in 2015; It has finally reopened for visitors on May, 2019 🇬🇷💙🙏. I hope I will be able to visit it one day 😊💒📿✝️

Excerpts from Wikipedia

Photos from Vimaorthodoxias.gr